The Statesboro Fire Department, in cooperation with the Statesboro Police Department, will hold its brief, annual Patriot Day ceremony at 9 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 11 at the porch in front of the Police Department headquarters, 25 W. Grady St. It is open to the public.

This year’s simple observance will include such traditional elements as a wreath presentation, lowering of the flags and ringing of a bell and brief remarks in memory of all the Americans, including many firefighters and other first responders, who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by terrorists who hijacked four airliners.

Two of the planes, with passengers onboard, were crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane crashed into the Pentagon near Washington, D.C., and a fourth crashed in a field in Pennsylvania, also killing all aboard, after passengers intervened.

As upper floors of the World Trade Center were engulfed in flames, firefighters ran toward the danger and continued to enter the buildings and bring other people out until the towers collapsed on all remaining inside.

At the 2024 ceremony, Statesboro Fire Chief Tim Grams said: “They did not become heroes because they had to. They became heroes because they chose to. Their choice to help is what we honor today. We gather not only because it marks the anniversary of a tragic day in our history, but because it is our duty to ensure that the sacrifices of those brave souls are never forgotten.”

On Wednesday morning at Paulson Stadium, the Eagle Battalion of the Reserve Officer Training Corps from Georgia Southern University is scheduled to hold its seventh annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb. Each wearing a badge with the name and photo of someone lost in the attacks, ROTC cadets climb the stairs through the stadium to replicate the 110 flights of stairs in the Twin Towers. Start time is 5:45 a.m.